The Sherman Artists Association is excited to welcome the public to their Open Studio Weekend on December 2nd and 3rd from 10 AM to 4 PM. During this event, visitors will have the opportunity to explore the artists’ studios and pop-up displays, which showcase a variety of creative pieces, including pottery, paintings, mixed media, photography, jewelry, sculptures, and more. Guests will have the chance to meet talented artists and learn about their artistic processes. The studios are located around the town of Sherman, and pop-up locations are located at White Silo, Sherman Senior Center, and Sherman Town Hall. Don’t miss out on this amazing opportunity to experience the beauty and creativity of these local artists. Download the brochure, which includes a map with all the studio and pop-up locations.

Our association meetings are held on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at the Sherman Senior Center or on Zoom at 6:30 p.m. If you have questions or concerns, contact us at shermanartists@gmail.com

Thanks to Open Studio Sponsors
Edward Schaffer Esq. – Attorney at Law
Claire’s Garden Center
Betsy Duckworth
IRIT Granger, Real Estate Broker for William Pitt / Sotheby’s
Jean Flynn, Luks Realty
Keller Williams
Sherman Wine & Spirits
The White Silo
Webster Bank
Amber Vlangas – Mindful Art & Sound
Sherman IGA

2023 Participating Artists

Studio Locations

Bethe Bogues
bethe.bogues2@gmail.com
Bethe has been a New Fairfield resident for over 30 years. With a lifelong passion for art, she has painted in her spare time and has been a student of Anda Styler for many years. With her recent retirement, she enjoys having more time to explore new mediums and focus on her art. (Beth will be exhibiting in Virginia Schaffer Studio)

Christy Bonaiuto
ChristyBPhotographyCT@gmail.com
Christy’s creations are like no other, each piece a testament to her unique vision and creative prowess. Using acrylics, she dances the paint with various techniques and tools, allowing each stroke to evolve into something magical. Her creations unfold, shapes and images reveal themselves, and she gives them life through thoughtful titles.

Linda Hubbard – Photographer
www.countryelegance.com
Linda T. Hubbard is a fine art photographer who is a native of New England and lived for many years in the Hudson River Valley. “I love to capture the beauty, peace and serenity of nature – the sunlight on the mountains, the incredible detail of a flower, the glorious colors of the sun setting over the river. I also love to include an element of architecture, a chair, something that states how humans and nature interrelate and gives it a sense of place”.

Cathlee Kessman
cathlee.kessman@gmail.com
Cathlee creates hand-crafted beaded and sterling silver jewelry using semiprecious gemstones and art glass beads. Earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and rings are among the many designs that are carefully crafted with materials chosen for the color and texture combination that can only be accomplished by handcrafting each piece. Cathlee’s jewelry tells a unique story of the wearer’s personality and style preferences. Custom name and Morse Code items are a specialty.

Kenny Litwack – Fused Glass Artist
www.Litwackglass.com
Instagram: @litwackglass
Fused glass. My work consists mostly of abstract landscapes and portraits which are created in my home studio. Most of the portraits are made up of thousands of individually cut squares of glass.

Mary Jane Magoon
mjmagoon@gmail.com
MaryJane Magoon grew up in the upper peninsula of Michigan. After residing in different areas of the Midwest, she settled in Connecticut. She is an Interior Designer and is a certified color consultant with a passion for color. Watercolor is her choice of medium. “I am inspired by the transparency and natural flow of the watercolor paint. Mary Jane is a member of Gallery 25, the Society of Creative Arts, the New England Watercolor Society, the Northeast Watercolor Society, and the Kent Art Association

MJ. Newman
www.mjnphotography.com
In 2012, my journey in photography began as a means of creative expression, drawing inspiration from architecture, nature, the human body, and the ordinary moments that surround me. I have always been interested in male physique photography. I found so much beauty, strength, vulnerability, physicality, and structure in the male form that I have continued to make artistic nudes a major part of my practice. I love mixing a beautiful landscape or piece of architecture with the male form to show the juxtaposition of physical and natural beauty together.

Virginia Niles Schaffer – Watercolor Artist
Facebook: Virginia Niles-Schaffer
In 2012, my journey in photography began as a means of creative expression, drawing inspiration from architecture, nature, the human body, and the ordinary moments that surround me. I have always been interested in male physique photography. I found so much beauty, strength, vulnerability, physicality, and structure in the male form that I have continued to make artistic nudes a major part of my practice. I love mixing a beautiful landscape or piece of architecture with the male form to show the juxtaposition of physical and natural beauty together. Virginia is not only a member of the Sherman Artists Association but also Gallery-25, Kent Art Association, and SCAN.

Popup Studios – Sherman Town Hall, White Silo Farm & Winery, and the Sherman Senior Center

At the Sherman Senior Center (8 Route 37 Center, Sherman, CT)

John Charles & Mako Kumano
http://www.onethousandbears.com; OneThousandBears@hotmail.com
World-renowned teddy bear photographers John Charles and Mako Kumano have photographed bears (both real and stuffed, often together) in over 28 countries on all seven continents. Their private charity, One Thousand Bears Project, donates large fine art prints of these images to hospitals, hospitals and orphanages around the world.

Renee Collins
mjmagoon@gmail.com
Renee K Collins has been an artist for over 40 years – starting as an acrylic painter and developing her skills into a jewelry designer. Renee uses only natural stones and high-quality elements, emphasizing sterling silver, leather, pave diamonds, pearls, pyrite, and other precious stones. No two pieces are alike. Her artwork has been shown in the Gold Mountain Gallery, Sea Salt Boutique, Sewall’s Point, and J Seitz.

Jeff Ginsburg & Lu Li
jeff_ginsburg@yahoo.com
Jeff Ginsburg and Lu Li are photographers known for their “Magniﬁcent Birds.” Their bird photographs strongly connect the photographers and their wild subjects. Lu began her fascination with cameras in her photography of the exotic lands of China during college breaks. Lu says, “I think my photos capture their indescribable beauty.” Jeff will also be showing his sublime landscapes and impressionistic portraits.
“I believe every photo must have an emotional impact,” he says. Their photos are award-winning and often purchased at local shows.

Susan Grisell
http://susangrisell.com; susangrisell@gmail.com
Susan Grisell has devoted more than 60 years to her work as a painter, the only vocation she has ever had. Following the guidance of her long-time teacher and mentor, the respected New England impressionist painter Bernard Lennon, Susan has developed a style marked by faithfulness to nature. Her paintings are recognizable for their integrity, with lines and colors that are true to what she sees and vigorous brushwork that conveys her response to the subject simply and without affectation.

Ted Hollander
tedhol@charter.net
Landscape watercolors on paper of local scenes and others from my travels and imagination.

Mae Maimone – Textile Artist (Bag Designer)
maemaimone@gmail.com
These “Poppins” bags are handmade and quilted for overnight, weekend getaways, knitting and craft projects, or whatever suits your fancy. They will fit under an airline seat as a carry-on. They have several pockets that will hold tablets, phones, glasses, knitting equipment, makeup, or pack with clothes and stuff!

Christina Maschke
www.christinamaschke.com
Drawing is seeing. It is my desire to capture as much detail as I can see. Light, shadows, and all the resulting shapes are exciting and challenging. Drawing has enabled me to see not only the big picture but “the devil in the details”. My mission is to take my abilities to the next level with every piece that I create.
I work in graphite, colored pencils, watercolor, pastels, and acrylics.

Cynthia O’Connor
cindy@bigshotsbycindy.com
Cynthia has been a professional photographer since 2005. Her work has included weddings, events, and portraiture but is now primarily landscape, cityscapes, and wildlife. Her two safaris in Africa to document the elephants and their plight and raise money and awareness to save them have been her most fulfilling work. She is also committed to sharing what captures her eye around the country wherever her travels take her.

Doreen O’Connor
www.1doconnorwildflowers .com
I am primarily a plein air landscape painter using acrylic or watercolor. I thoroughly enjoy the challenge of light and weather changes working outdoors. I am inspired by the beauty, transience, and sometimes the harshness of nature. My degrees were in art education but I spent many years in historic house museums before starting a decorative painting business in 1990. That business allowed me finally to make a good living solely from my art. I am now mostly retired and paint whenever I want.

At the White Silo Farm & Winery (32 Rt. 37 East Sherman, CT)

Terry Pasquale
tee104@aol.com

Terry spent the pandemic exploring different painting styles. She discovered acrylic paint pouring and found liberation in the release of control that it afforded. She paints on canvas and other media and utilizes paint skins in her creations.

At the Sherman Town Hall (8 Route 39, Sherman, CT)

Carolyn Cohen
852cookie@gmail.com
Carolyn Cohen is an abstract painter, happily painting and experimenting away in Sherman, Florida, and Cape Cod studios. She is a member of Gallery 25 in New Milford and Kent Art Association. Carolyn uses mixed media in her paintings and combines collage, printing from her own hand-carved blocks and various textures to achieve a deeper, more layered effect. She also enjoys painting over previous work, so many pieces have been reincarnations.

Bonnie Johnson
bbj floral art
Bouquet prints are created with traditional and digital drawing tools. Each petal and flower in the bouquet is hand drawn and painted using these tools and then assembled into a bouquet design. The prints are original digital media and printed on specialty paper with archival inks. They are typically printed in an edition of 100. Each print is hand-signed by me and framed. Some may be available as prints only.

Jill Kaplan
Instagram: @jakceramics
Jill Kaplan is a Potter with a studio in Sherman. She designs one-of-a-kind wheel-thrown and embellished wares. Her pieces reflect her previous careers as an Interior Designer, Chef, and Caterer. They are functional for serving and tabletop decor. Her work entails throwing and hand building, slab work, and piping as well as the use of transfers. Her work can be seen in exhibits and sales at the Town Hall in Sherman, in December and the Sherman Library in November. Sacred Grounds Coffee Roasters sells her coffee mugs.

Jodi King
Jodi Yeaple Art
I do whimsical mermaids, fairies, and a variety of other styles with watercolors, acrylics, and oils. I also teach these at the Alice Desmond Center in Balmville, NY. Sometimes I combine watercolors and acrylics depending on the depth of color I’ll need to finish one of my paintings. Some work is very detailed while some pieces are simple strokes of whimsy …lol. I try to capture my imagination or just paint as simply as I see it.

Elizabeth Knowles
Instagram – @the_artistic_mama
I often work with acrylic; I find inspiration from real life, animals, and landscapes. My work begins with charcoal sketches; sometimes, I like the raw look, and they stay in sketch form; other times, I add color with acrylic.

Charlene Leichter
chicagorsing@yahoo.com
Inspired by nature and my surroundings, I use watercolors to express what I see and I try to impart what I feel into the painting. Sometimes it’s loose and happy accidents happen, sometimes the work is detailed and very realistic. Either way, it’s a journey.

Denise Schlesinger
dschlesinger13@gmail.com
My work depicts representational minute details of a snapshot of everyday life, by capturing emotional feelings of preserved memories. I work my canvasses in acrylic paints but I am also trained in oils. I carry my camera everywhere I go to get the right photographs that capture my eye. I take as many as 12 shots of a given subject to secure my eyes’ memories. My journey continues to be amazing as I meet people with their own stories as I create the life around us.